Measurement Customisation

The measurement customisation form is divided into two parts. The upper half of the form displays all elements that have measurement tables, and all fields within those tables, while the lower half of the form displays a list of all elements within the system. Any of these elements can be selected and a measurements table can be created for that element. Fields, or columns, can be created within that table using the upper half of this form. Users should be familiar with the recording system used for mammal and bird measurements, before modifying it.

Fish measurements are recorded in a different way from mammals and birds, and are less complex. Each specimen can have up to three measurements recorded for it, following the diagrams on the fish measurements page. Any new fish species or elements added to the system will automatically have the option to record three measurements. Because of this, there is no fish recording customisation for measurements.

The upper left list box displays all measurement tables that are currently in the system. When the user selects one of these tables, a list of all fields within that table will appear in the list box in the upper right of the form. In common with most other sections of the customise form, users can then use the Add or Delete buttons to augment or alter all measurement fields on the selected table. However, the 'id' and 'boneid' fields cannot be altered as they are integral to the tables.

Any one table can contain up to 56 measurements (chosen because the maximum number of von den Driesch measurements that any one element has is 55, for the horse cranium).

The following illustration shows a measurement table being selected (in this case, the coracoid table). The list of all fields from this table is then displayed in the list box on the right:

The list box at the bottom of the form lists all mammal, bird and 'other' elements that are present in the system. Any of these can be selected, and the Create New Table button can be pushed to create a new measurements table. This table will then appear in the list on the upper left of the form. It can then be selected from this list. By default, any new table will only contain the 'id' and 'boneid' fields. However, the Add button can be used to populate this table.

The following illustration shows: (1) the Antler element having been selected and the Create New Table button having been pressed; (2) the list box in the upper left of the form now displays Antler as an entry, reflecting the fact that this element now has a measurement table; finally, (3) the list box in the upper right now displays a list of all fields in the Antler table; 'test1' and 'test2' have been added by the user, and 'test3' is in the process of being added.